Sabah quake: Nude tourists shouted vulgarities at mountain guide

KUNDASANG - The 10 Westerners who stripped and urinated on top of Mount Kinabalu had shouted vulgarities at a mountain guide who asked them to stop their unbecoming behaviour.

They not only called him stupid but used the four-letter word and made crude hand gestures at him, according to friends of the 35 year-old guide who escorted the Western climbers on May 10.

When approached by the Star, the guide turned down a request to be interviewed on what transpired on the mountaintop for fear of tampering with police investigations

An ex-soldier from Kelantan, the guide settled down in Kundasang a few years ago after marrying a local woman. He has been a mountain guide for two years.

While he would not say what happened that day, the man, who requested anonymity, said he agreed with local Dusun elders that the mountain spirits might have been angered by the antics of the Westerners, resulting in Friday's earthquake.

"Maybe a little. Because the earthquake only happened after the naked stunt, " he said.

The ex-soldier said that it was important for climbers to follow instructions as given by the guides as they were trained on the do's and don't when climbing Mount Kinabalu.

"We discuss the rules during the briefing before the ascent and after. If climbers aren't sure about how to conduct themselves on the mountain, they must strictly follow the guide's instructions.

"If we ask you to respect the mountain, please do so," he explained.

The guide also said that he might have to revise his approach in guiding trekkers to emphasise on stricter enforcement of the rules for climbing Mount Kinabalu.

"Even though I am not originally from Kundasang, being married to a local, I understand the culture and traditions of the people here.

"This includes behaving appropriately while on the mountain," he added.

Parks director Dr Jamili Nais had earlier said that they lodged a police report over the matter and had issued a show cause letter to the guide for failing to inform the park headquarters of the incident.

He also confirmed that the westerners had called the guide stupid and asked him to go to hell when he tried to stop them.